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CIO disrupt Makoni plan

Zim Independent

Friday, 29
February 2008 11:31

THE Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and
other state security agents are reportedly disrupting presidential election
candidate Simba Makoni's campaign ahead of its launch tomorrow in the
opposition stronghold of Bulawayo.This comes as uncertainty mounts
over the availability of Makoni's key Zanu PF and opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) faction allies for his Bulawayo and Harare rallies
at the weekend. This has cast a shadow over Makoni's rallies, especially the
first one at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday afternoon which he
needs to be well-attended to establish his credentials as a serious
contender. It is equally important for his second gathering on Sunday at
Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare to be well-attended. Altogether Makoni is due to
hold 80 rallies countrywide. Yesterday he toured Nyamapanda where he got a
rapturous welcome.

Sources said the CIO were disrupting Makoni's
preparations to undermine his campaign which they fear might trigger a tidal
wave of support in his favour. They said the state security agents had
blocked the supply of paper for the printing of posters and flyers, as well
as other promotional material from Harare-based company, Paroan Vista. The
sources said CIO agents had told the firm to stop or delay the printing of
material which is now a week behind schedule.

They said this
recently led to a fierce clash between a senior Makoni camp official Ibbo
Mandaza and a top manager at the company. Mandaza is said to have telephoned
the company in connection with the material but was told that nothing would
be released because of problems related to payment. The Makoni group is
understood to have paid R270 000 for the material to Paroan via a South
African bank but the company rejected a transaction slip and vowed not to
release the material until other forms of payment were made.

Makoni's camp is said to have made payment in South Africa because it did
not have enough Zimbabwean dollars, but had foreign currency mobilised from
locals living outside the country.

After the problem between
Makoni's camp and Paroan, it is said the firm, in which Indian businessmen
have an interest, went on to report the issue to the Indian embassy in
Harare. Paroan managers could not be reached for comment
yesterday.

The sources said what suggested the CIO were behind the
disruption was a transcript of the altercation between Mandaza and the
Paroan manager that was provided to the Makoni camp by their state security
contacts this week.

The sources said the transcript is a correct
record of events surrounding the stand-off between the Makoni's group and
the company.

It is understood that most of the gatherings that the
Makoni camp holds at Mandaza's Sapes Trust offices in Belgravia were
recorded by CIO, including last week's critical election strategy meeting
which was chaired by acting coordinating committee chair Mike Mataure, a
former Zanu PF MP.

Mataure chaired the meeting, not Mike Madiro,
ex-Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chair, as we reported last week. The
committee is now going to be chaired by former Industry and Trade minister
Nkosana Moyo who returned to the country last week.

Asked for
comment yesterday on CIO interference, Mandaza said: "There has been
enormous disruption of our plans by the state."

The police however
refused to provide Makoni with security, saying he was not a VIP. The Makoni
camp also claims to have uncovered a plot to subject their leader to a
systematic smear and name-calling campaign by the state agents through false
media stories and disinformation.

"They are trying all sorts of
dirty tricks against us," a senior member of the Makoni group said. "They
are almost succeeding, as shown by the Paroan fiasco, in disrupting our
campaign." However, Makoni said this week he would win 70% of the
vote.

To make matters worse, the state appears to be managing to
instill fear in Zanu PF to discourage them from supporting Makoni. If Zanu
PF and MDC gladiators backing Makoni fail to show up at his rallies this
could undermine his ability to eclipse his two main rivals in the race,
President Robert Mugabe and MDC faction leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.

There were doubts about whether Makoni's reported Zanu
PF allies, who include retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru and
former Home Affairs minister Dumiso Dabengwa, would appear.

Mujuru and others such as his wife Joice, Vice-President Joseph Msika, party
chair John Nkomo and politburo member retired army commander General Vitalis
Zvinavashe, who reportedly sympathise with Makoni, were not expected to
attend his rallies in Bulawayo and Harare.

In fact, all of them,
including Mujuru and Dabengwa, are expected to attend Mugabe's campaign
launch today in Harare.

Zanu PF politburo member Joshua Malinga,
who was thought to be on Makoni's side, said he would not attend because he
had nothing to do with the former minister.

"I'm not part of
the Makoni project because I'm a member of Zanu PF. My interests and
constituencies are very clear," he said.

Retired Major Mbudzi, who
directs operations in the Makoni camp, said the rallies were going ahead as
planned. He however could not say whether Zanu PF and MDC officials backing
Makoni would be there.

"I don't know whether they will be there but
everybody is welcome. If they support Makoni they will come," he
said.

"All that we need is support, it doesn't matter whether the
people will come from the mountains, seas or forests," Mbudzi
said.

Senior members of the MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara,
who have an electoral pact with the former Finance minister's camp, would
also not attend Makoni's rallies because they have their own rally at White
City stadium on Sunday.

Sources said the problem in Bulawayo
was that there were divisions between Dabengwa's group supporting Makoni,
which include politicians like Themba Dlodlo and Joshua Mhambi, and the
Mutambara faction over the Makoni rally.

After that it was
decided Makoni would launch in Masvingo on March 2, but the problem was that
Mugabe was expected be in the town on March 1. It was then felt it would not
be a good idea to trail him in his campaign.

It is also understood
there were problems about what happens if Makoni wins. Dabengwa and his
group wanted a clear-cut deal while the Mutambara camp wanted unequivocal
assurances.

After Masvingo was ruled out as the launch place,
Harare was suggested before they settled on Bulawayo again. Differences on
election strategy and positions are said to have created tensions in the
Makoni camp.

This has been compounded by last weekend's failure of
the Makoni group to meet Tsvangirai to discuss a possible electoral pact.
Tsvangirai, who has described Makoni as "new wine in an old bottle",
cancelled the meeting.

There was a telephone clash last week
between Mandaza and the Tsvangirai faction's secretary for elections Ian
Makone after the former had called to confirm the meeting.

Makone allegedly said Tsvangirai was not interested in meeting Makoni. The
MDC said it would be easier for Makoni to fly to the moon than meet
Tsvangirai in the present circumstances.-- Dumisani Muleya

Makoni courts Tsvangirai

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28
February 2008 11:03

SURPRISE presidential election candidate Simba
Makoni is making an effort to win over main opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai to beef up his bid to challenge President Robert Mugabe in next
month's defining elections.Informed sources said a meeting between
Makoni and Tsvangirai is set for Sunday to discuss ways of joining forces to
confront Mugabe at the polls. The meeting is expected to be uneasy after
Tsvangirai last week described Makoni as "nothing more than old wine in a
new bottle" and accused him of being partly to blame for Mugabe and Zanu
PF's failures. However, if Makoni pulls it off, this would give a dramatic
boost to his electoral prospects ahead of the polls.

On
Wednesday Makoni's formation met in Harare to discuss election strategy. The
meeting was convened by its national coordinating committee chaired by
former Zanu PF provincial chairman Mike Madiro. Makoni, who chairs the
organisation's national management committee, attended the
meeting.

The outfit's structures include the management
committee, coordination committee, finance and administration, media and
communications, and mobilisation. It also has youth and women's
leagues.

Makoni is reportedly working with senior Zanu PF officials
including politburo members retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru
and Dumiso Dabengwa. The two have had several meetings with Makoni in recent
weeks. Mujuru and Dabengwa are leading the challenge to Mugabe within Zanu
PF structures.

Dabengwa - detained and systematically tortured
by the government on unfounded treason charges in the 1980s - has of late
been open in tackling Mugabe, especially during politburo
meetings.

The sources said Dabengwa told a meeting in South Africa
last weekend that senior Zanu PF officials, including Mujuru and himself,
supported Makoni. It is understood he said Zanu PF needs a change of
leadership. Dabengwa led opposition to Mugabe's unprocedural endorsement as
the Zanu PF candidate at the party's extraordinary congress in December.
Makoni has said many party officials were disappointed when Mugabe was
retained at the helm.

Makoni is said to be seeking to close ranks
with opposition leaders to stage a united challenge against
Mugabe.

Political observers say Makoni's plan would have been more
viable if he went for a united front against Mugabe instead of an
ill-defined outfit which makes it difficult to secure buy-ins from strategic
allies.

However, Makoni's camp is trying to deal with this issue
via informal alliances. Last Sunday Makoni met another Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) faction leader Arthur Mutambara to seal an informal
electoral pact. Makoni met Mutambara at Ibbo Mandaza's farm in Mazowe to
iron out issues after making inconsistent remarks last week about their
partnership.

The meeting was attended by Mandaza, who is a
parliamentary candidate for Mazowe West, and other senior officials in the
Makoni camp, as well as Priscillah Misihairabwi-Mushonga, an MP, and Miriam
Mushayi, a top official in the Mutambara faction.

Makoni and
Mutambara, who dropped out of the presidential race to back his new ally,
reinforced their working arrangement. Although Mutambara might not have a
power base, MPs aligned to him command sizeable grassroots support. The
Mutambara camp's MPs are likely to retain their seats in Bulawayo which is
their stronghold.

Parliamentary election candidates working with
Makoni and Mutambara are not challenging each other.

The
sources said Mandaza has been engaged in talks with Tsvangirai's lieutenants
to prepare the ground for talks between their leaders.

"Talks have
been going on between Mandaza and senior officials in Tsvangirai's faction
to find ways of striking a deal in which Tsvangirai would drop out to
support Makoni," a source said. "It will become clear what will happen after
Makoni's one-on-one meeting with Tsvangirai."

Tsvangirai has a
relatively large following on the ground and his MPs are expected to retain
their seats in Harare, the faction's heartland. The Tsvangirai camp might
also pick up a few seats in different provinces.

The sources said
the Makoni camp is anxious to secure agreements with both MDC factions to
avoid splitting the vote in favour of the ruling Zanu PF and Mugabe. There
are fears in opposition circles that the Makoni, Tsvangirai and Mutambara
groups could split the vote and help Mugabe and his party to retain power by
default.

Political observers say opposition groups might suffer the
"Kenya syndrome" in which the incumbent wins as a result of splitting the
vote by his rivals. The Makoni camp is trying to avoid this
situation.

Makoni 'allies' to attend Zanu PF launch

Zim Independent

Friday, 29 February 2008 11:16

ZANU PF heavyweights linked to
independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni, among them Solomon Mujuru
and Dumiso Dabengwa, are today expected to attend the ruling party's 2008
election campaign launch in the capital.This comes on the eve of
Makoni's campaign launch in Bulawayo where Dabengwa was expected to ditch
Zanu PF and back the former Finance minister who will square up with
President Robert Mugabe, the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai and little-known
Langton Towungana.

Mujuru and other allies were expected to attend
the Makoni launch on Saturday at White City Stadium and a Zimbabwe Grounds
rally in Harare the following day.

Impeccable sources told the
Zimbabwe Independent that Dabengwa initially wanted to contest the
presidential election, but later stepped down to back Makoni after he
announced his plans on February 5.

Mujuru and Dabengwa are
reportedly opposed to Mugabe's continued stay in power and have since March
last year been challenging him on many issues in the politburo.

The two were also irked after Mugabe roped war veterans' leader Jabulani
Sibanda into his corner to spearhead his campaign for endorsement as Zanu
PF's presidential candidate at the party's extraordinary congress in
December.

Zanu PF bigwigs, among them Vice-President Joseph
Msika, party chairman John Nkomo and politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu,
opposed Sibanda's activities, and accused him of challenging former Zapu
leaders.

The sources said apart from Mujuru and Dabengwa, Makoni
enjoys the support of over half of the politburo members, who are reportedly
working behind the scenes to mobilise support for the former Zanu PF deputy
secretary for finance.

"It will be interesting to see whether
or not Mujuru and Dabengwa, among other party bigwigs, will attend Makoni's
weekend rallies after President Mugabe's campaign launch," one of the
sources said.

Yesterday, Dabengwa declined to confirm or deny that
he will attend the Zanu PF election campaign launch.

"Why are
you asking me if I am attending the launch when I have been attending other
party meetings?" Dabengwa said. "What is so special about the meeting you
are referring to?"

The former Zapu intelligence supremo also
declined to answer questions related to the Makoni project.

"I
will not answer questions from you," he said curtly.

Meanwhile,
Mugabe will today launch Zanu PF's campaign at the Harare International
Conference Centre where he will unveil the party's manifesto.

The
manifesto was supposed to have been unveiled on February 15 followed by a
string of star rallies throughout the country for 14 days.

The
campaign will now run under the theme: "Defending our land and national
sovereignty; building prosperity through empowerment." --Constantine
Chimakure

NIPC cuts illegal deals with manufacturers

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 16:59THE National Incomes and Pricing
Commission (NIPC) is illegally cutting deals with manufacturers to allow
them to sell their commodities above the gazetted prices. Businessdigest can
reveal that the NIPC, which is empowered to control prices of all products
and services, has been doing side deals with bakeries to allow them to sell
bread at higher prices which are not gazetted by the commission. The NIPC's
prices list approved on February 9 states that a loaf of bread should cost
$200 000 but the commission privately allowed bakeries to sell at $3,3
million.

Companies in this deal include Lobels, Kinbran, Mitchell,
Proton and Superbake. The list also includes smaller bakeries.

The NIPC has also allowed millers to sell maize-meal at prices way above
those gazetted. The commission privately allowed millers to sell a 10kg bag
of mealie-meal for $9 million even though the approved price is $152
400.

"The prices on the list are not the ones that the producers
are charging, we are aware of that because we had an agreement with them but
the agreement is only confined to bread and mealie-meal," said an NIPC
commissioner.

Bread and mealie-meal are all controlled products
whose prices have to be approved by NIPC in consultation with the
cabinet.

The cabinet did not approve the prices for mealie-meal and
bread. In fact the applications for the price reviews on the two products
will only be tabled in cabinet next week.

National Bakers'
Association, Vincent Mangoma, admitted that the association had a private
agreement with NIPC to sell bread at $3,3 million per loaf.

Mangoma said the association was aware that the understanding with NIPC was
illegal.

"The government has not gazzetted a new price because of
political tension but as long as no one makes any noise they (government)
will not do anything about it," saidMangoma.

"We as
the National Bakers' Association have made several applications to the
ministry of Industry and International Trade through the NIPC and they have
said to us 'fine you can move from this price to that price while the
application is still pending'," said Mangoma.

"It is not an
agreement but some form of understanding between the NIPC and us but the
commission has said the prices we charge should not exceed $4 million but if
the application is approved in cabinet then the price may be pushed up to $7
million."

Businessdigest understands that the NIPC told the
bakeries to charge $3,3 million but warned that they should be careful about
it.

The NIPC's official line to government is that the millers and
bakeries are over-charging.

NIPC chairman, Godwills
Masimirembwa said the commission had struck a "gentleman's agreement" with
millers and bakeries.

Masimirembwa said millers and bakers were
only given a dispensation while their applications are pending approval from
cabinet.

It is however understood that the "gentleman's agreement"
also applies to sugar which is one of the controlled products. Questions are
now being asked on how many companies have managed to do such deals with the
NIPC.

The disparity between the NIPC's prices and those that are
being charged by big corporates seem to suggest that there could have been
more private deals.

For instance three chicken pieces at
Innscor's Chicken Inn are going for $49,5 million but the NIPC approved
price is $13,8 million.

The news of such private deals is likely to
trigger discontent among companies that are already bleeding due to price
controls. The companies accuse the NIPC of failing to approve prices on
time.--Jesilyn Dendere

Minister misled cabinet

Thursday, 28
February 2008 16:41ENERGY and Power Development minister retired
lieutenant-general Mike Nyambuya could have misled cabinet on Zesa Holdings
restructuring exercise two years ago.

Nyambuya told cabinet in
May 2006 in a memorandum titled Proposals for rationalisation of Zesa
Successor Companies that Zesa was overstaffed and that this was straining
the finances of the group.

Nyambuya convinced cabinet to approve a
voluntary retrenchment and restructuring exercise that resulted in the
utility losing a lot of skills which worsened the problem.

Nyambuya also informed cabinet that most of the overstaffing had occurred in
senior and executive management positions and that this was the main reason
behind Zesa's push for a tariff increase.

The minister told cabinet
that a restructuring exercise was urgent, documents in the possession of
businessdigest reveal.

A report that Zesa submitted to the cabinet
at that time accuses Nyambuya of giving wrong figures and information in
order to achieve his plans to restructure the utility.

The
reports said Nyambuya had misled the cabinet on a number of issues including
staff deployment, operational efficiency, cost efficiency analysis and
corporate governance.

The Zesa report said all the statistics
Nyambuya presented in the report had been misleading.

"The
minister's presentation highlighted perceptions and concerns of an alleged
top-heavy structure in Zesa and an alleged massive increase in employee
numbers, citing statistics on total employee strength, executive management
and senior management.all the statistics presented in the report are
flawed.," the report read.

The Zesa report also stated: "The report
to cabinet was constructed on the premise of statistics with fundamental
errors.and on conceptions that are fundamentally mistaken, leading to
conclusions that are not valid."

Zesa's report however said staff
levels before unbundling had in fact been 7462 and that they had been
reduced to 5831 after unbundling exercise in which cut 1631
jobs.

Zesa also denied claims by Nyambuya that there were seven
executive management and 31 senior management posts before unbundling and
that the unbundling exercise had resulted in 28 executive management and 312
senior management posts.

Zesa argued that there had been nine
executive management posts and 185 senior management positions before the
unbundling exercise which saw executive management posts rise to 27, while
senior management positions were reduced to 174.

Zesa also
argued that the only increase had been in executive management and that this
was largely necessitated by creation of two new companies, Power
Telecommunications (Powertel) and Zesa Enterprises resulting in the creation
of nine new executive posts.

"The balance of nine is made up of
former division chiefs and section heads in the former generation,
transmission and consumer services divisions, who only changed titles to
directors without change of grades, when the divisions became companies,"
the report stated.

The report also details operational efficiency
gains increasing after the unbundling exercise.

There was an
eight percent increase in energy supplied, from 10 088 gigawatt hours (GWHs)
to 10 891 GWHs, a 36,3% in total numbers of customers served, an 85,8%
increase in the number of customers served per employee and a 47,4% increase
in energy supplied per employee.

The report stated that Nyambuya's
statistics were basically flawed as Zesa was performing well in terms of
efficiency gains related to staff deployment levels.

Nyambuya
was not available for comment with his secretary saying he would only be in
the office next Monday. Energy secretary Justin Mupamhanga was said to be in
a meeting.

Since 2006, when Nyambuya's voluntary retrenchment
scheme for Zesa attained cabinet approval, Zesa lost 25 of the 27 executive
managers to emerge from the unbundling exercise.

It has also
lost over 200 senior managers out of the 312 who emerged after unbundling
but opted for Nyambuya's voluntary retrenchment exercise.

Energy
sources said the skills loss was worsening the energy crisis facing Zesa,
adding to other problems such as an archaic generation, distribution and
transmission network, an unclear energy policy and lack of new investment in
the energy sector.

Government buys three Russian planes

Friday, 29 February 2008 09:49THE government has paid a deposit for
three Ilyushin planes from Russia's Voronezh Aircraft Construction Company
(Vaco).

The planes, which are Ilyushin-96 models, are for cargo and
passenger use.

The deal is worth US$228 million and government
recently paid a 30% deposit of US$68,4 million to show
commitment.

Information to hand shows that the Minister of
Transport and Communication, Christopher Mushohwe, visited Russia earlier
this month to place the deposit for three Ilyushin and Tupolev planes - one
IL-96-400 P for passengers and two IL-96-400 M for cargo use.

The balance will be paid in the form of a loan financed by Ilyushin Finance
Co, one of two state-run Russian companies involved in domestic aircraft
construction and sales.

Ilyushin Finance Co is involved in
financing the purchase of IL-96-300, IL-96-400 and An-148
aircraft.

Delivery of the planes will be done mid-2010. Sources
said the government had backed down on its initial plan to buy five planes
because of financial problems. Ilyushin Finance Co also indicated that they
could only fund the purchase of three planes while they assess Zimbabwe's
ability to repay the initial loan.

Aviation experts have
however criticised the deal saying Ilyushin planes were expensive to
maintain. A technical report done by Air Zimbabwe engineers also criticised
the decision to buy the planes from Russia. The report said the planes had
serious "technical shortcomings" that have been reported byother
users in the past. They are also heavy on fuel and will involve Air Zimbabwe
engineers in extensive retraining.--Paul Nyakazeya

RBZ fails to release forex to exporters, miners,
NGOs

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 17:15ZIMBABWE's exporters and
gold mining companies are on the verge of collapse because they cannot
access their foreign currency which is held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ).

Businessdigest understands that the RBZ has failed to
release the funds into foreign currency accounts (FCAs) on time since
November last year forcing major exporting companies and gold miners to
scale down operations.

Gold production is at its lowest level since
2000. Exporting companies have reduced production because they don't have
working capital.

Non-government organisations and civic
organisations are also battling to get their forex from the RBZ. Some NGOs
have applications dating back to as far as December last year.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) and the Chamber of Mines this week wrote to the
Ministry of Finance, which was copied to the RBZ, complaining about the
situation indicating that some companies could be forced to shut down if the
monies are not released immediately.

The three groups also
requested the Finance ministry to facilitate a meeting with the central bank
to find a solution to the crisis which now threatens more than 25 000
jobs.

They also requested the ministry to intervene and force the
RBZ to relinquish the FCAs back to commercial banks.

ZNCC
president Marah Hativagone confirmed that they had written to the ministry
appealing for the urgent release of the foreign currency.

"We
indeed wrote to the RBZ as a combined body of ZNCC, CZI and the Chamber of
Mines complaining on the matter," she said.

The RBZ is however yet
to reply to the letter.

In the monetary policy statement announced
in September 2007, the RBZ forced banks to surrender all their client's
corporate FCAs to the central bank.

Since then attempts by the
export sector and the mining community to access their funds on time have
been futile with banks now reportedly keeping "paper FCAs" to mirror the
accounts at the central bank.

Exporters are required by the RBZ to
keep 65% of their export proceeds in their FCAs and are forced to liquidate
35% of their export proceeds at US$1:$525 000.

Sources said
there was a strong belief in the market that the foreign currency was used
for other things.

"We believe there is nothing in our accounts. All
efforts by holders of FCAs to get their funds released have been in vain.
There is despair in industry as there are no signs they will get their forex
anytime soon," said one source.

The gold mining sector is the
most affected. Information gathered this week shows that some mines have not
been paid for their gold deliveries to the RBZ since October last
year.

Production for 2008 is already threatened with mining experts
saying it could be as low as three tonnes.

The sector is
operating at less that 15% of capacity due to working capital problems
caused by the late payments from the RBZ.

Mines require foreign
currency to import fuels, chemicals and equipment. Some mining companies are
flooded because they don't have the foreign currency to import spares parts
for their pumps.

Production at Metallon Gold, Zimbabwe's biggest
gold producer, has also slumped. For example Metallon's How Mine in Bulawayo
which normally produces more than 150kg per month only managed 25kg in
January. The target for February is 18kg.

RioZim is also
struggling to maintain production.

"If authorities don't change
their attitude towards gold producers, then production in 2008 is set to be
around three tonnes," said one mine manager.

"This is sad
because we can actually produce a conservative figure of between 15 and 20
tonnes of gold per year. By failing to pay the gold producers on time, the
country lost about 10 tonnes in 2007," he said.

Gold production has
been waning for the past eight years. Last year, gold deliveries to the RBZ
were 6,75 tonnes as compared to 11 tonnes in 2006.

"We made
numerous representations to the RBZ since early 2007 and even started
monthly meetings with them hoping that payments would be honoured. The
monthly meetings were abandoned as the RBZ simply did not respond to
requests for meetings with the industry," the official said.--Kuda
Chikwanda

Fuel shortage looms

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February
2008 17:06A MASSIVE fuel shortage is looming in the country amid
revelations that government has started stocking diesel and petrol for the
election campaign.

Sources said the National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe (Noczim), the sole importer of fuel in the country, has been
directed to hold on to the fuel that they have imported on behalf of private
fuel companies.

A source said government, which is currently thin
on resources, plans to divert some of the fuel for use during the
elections.

The government does not have the foreign currency to
import its own fuel. There were reports this week that the government was
buying foreign currency on the parallel market to import fuel.

The news came as it also emerged that millions of United States dollars
belonging to mining companies, exporters and non-government agencies have
also been diverted by the central bank to fund government operations ahead
of the harmonised elections.

Some companies have not received fuel
for the past three weeks despite having paid for the product to
Noczim.

"Every time we call Noczim there is a different
explanation," said a senior manager with a local private fuel
company.

The government has also been dithering on licensing more
private fuel companies. Fuel companies are licensed every month. So far only
three companies have been licensed by the ministry of Energy and Power
Development.

The three companies are Ekaya, Redan Petroleum and
Caltex. More than 20 companies are yet to be licensed. The delay in
licensing companies has created shortages on the market.

The
prices of fuel on the black market jumped to around $28 million a litre as
the few companies that have the product try to cash in on the temporary
shortages.

Fuel price have also been increasing in United States
dollar terms.

Officials at Noczim told businessdigest this week
that the parastatal also had a huge backlog on fuel deliveries to the
companies.

The few companies that have the fuel are also jittery
about government's plans to control prices of diesel and
petrol.

Last week the National Incomes and Pricing Commission
(NIPC) chairman, Godwills Masimirembwa, told businessdigest that the
commission was working on plans to control the price of fuel. - Staff
Writer.

Companies mull reporting in US dollars

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 17:03THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is
analysing proposals submitted by listed companies to report their accounts
in United States dollar terms as a means of getting around the delays in the
release of inflation figures.

ZSE chief executive officer Emmanuel
Munyukwi said the local bourse had received a number of proposals from
quoted companies after the Central Statistical Office (CSO) failed to
publish inflation results for the greater part of last year.

Munyukwi said the proposals were submitted before the CSO released the
annual inflation figures for December 2007 two weeks ago. He said the ZSE
would look at the merits of the proposals.

The CSO has failed
to publish year-on-year inflation figures on time for the past seven
months.

Munyukwi said companies had argued in their proposals that
the delay in the release of inflation figures was affecting the release of
their inflation-adjusted accounts.

They also argued that most
of their costs were United States dollar-denominated.

"There is
a drive at the moment by some of these (listed) companies to publish their
(financial) statements with figures denominated in US dollars," Munyukwi
said.

"We are not too sure if that is legal but we are looking into
it," he said.

Mining counter, Falgold, was the first to publish
its financial statements in United States dollars last year. However, this
move was met with stiff resistance from the ZSE forcing Falgold to
eventually publish its statements using the local currency.

Listed companies are required by both the ZSE and the Companies Act to
publish their audited financial statements at least 90 days after the
financial year end. The 90-day requirement is also observed
internationally.

The delay in the release of the inflation figures
has made it difficult for most listed companies to release their account
with the required 90-day period.

Most quoted companies changed
their financial year end to December 31 when Zimbabwe changed its tax
year.

Foreign-owned companies have been hardest hit by the CSO's
delays.

The majority are required to prepare their audited and
inflation adjusted financial statements well before the 90-day deadline to
allow the holding companies to consolidate their accounts into the group
statements before deadline, which is an international standard,
lapses.

Munyukwi said there were fears that some local companies
could fail to submit their audited statements on time because of the delays
in the inflation figures.

"We are not encouraging companies to
delay in releasing their audited financial statements. The inflation figures
were released last week so they should try and make sure they comply. But we
know some will fail because of genuine reasons. If they do, why punish them
when the fault was not theirs?"

He would not however divulge which
exchange rate the companies would use. Zimbabwe has three main exchange
rates - the official one at US$1:$30 000, the Old Mutual Implied Rate and
the parallel market rate.

"I would rather not go into details on
that as we are talking to the companies concerned and the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ)," Munyukwi said.

ICAZ
chief executive officer Sonny Mabheju said annual reporting by both quoted
and unquoted companies had become a nightmare because of the delay of
inflation figures.

"Foreign owned companies are the worst
affected," Mabheju said. "They have stricter reporting requirements as
holding companies will have to consolidate and report within 90 days. The
late release however of December inflation figures may avert our worst
fears."

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president
Callisto Jokonya said: "Inflation figures are always of importance as they
help us plan. We are talking to the Minister of Finance who is the first
port of call. If we quote in other currencies, it would look like we are not
working with government. But government has to make the environment
favourable by providing these figures." -- Kuda Chikwanda

Zanu PF candidates refuse to step down

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 16:15THE ruling Zanu PF's efforts to
conceal divisions in the party collapsed this week as bigwigs who defied
President Robert Mugabe and filed their papers to stand as Zanu PF
candidates along with official candidates refused to withdraw from the
elections.

This week the party's leadership sent out high-powered
delegations to provinces to convince a number of seasoned Zanu PF
politicians who filed their nomination papers to stand as candidates in the
parliamentary and senatorial polls to withdraw their
candidacies.

Ruling party sources said the biggest delegation led
by the party's secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, descended on
Masvingo to try and convince the renegades to withdraw from the
elections.

Masvingo has the highest number of candidates who filed
papers, challenging Zanu PF's official candidates.

Mumbengegwi, however, on Wednesday lost the
party's primary election re-run to former Masvingo governor Josaya Hungwe
but is again disputing the result, indicating that he might not withdraw his
nomination papers from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Mavhaire is still challenging Zanu PF official candidate Maina Mandava,
while Zvobgo will stand against businessman and party appointee Edmund
Mhere.

However, the Zanu PF leadership has managed to persuade
political minnows Rushwaya and Sabina Mangwende to withdraw their
candidature from Gutu South and Glen View constituencies
respectively.

A number of the candidates who spoke to the Zimbabwe
Independent confirmed that they either received a letter or were approached
by senior Zanu PF officials and told to withdraw their
candidacy.

They said they were not going to withdraw because the
electorate wanted them to contest the elections.

In
Manicaland's Makoni West, the Zanu PF elections directorate wrote to Nation
Madongorere, a former Central Intelligence Organisation operative, to
withdraw from the parliamentary race in favour of Agricultural Engineering
minister Joseph Made.

"I have received a call from provincial
chairman Tinaye Chigudu saying that he has a letter from the elections
directorate persuading me to withdraw and pave way for Made," Madongorere
said in an interview.

"In the run-up to the primaries I was given a
similar letter, but I turned it down in the same way I will refuse this
initiative."

Matongorere said he would not step down because he was
chosen by the people to represent them."People of Makoni West
invited me and I accepted it," he said.

"I submitted my CV as
required which the presidium approved before going to primaries which I won
so why would they want me to step down now?"

Traditional chiefs in
the area support Madongorere.

Five chiefs from the constituency
besieged Zanu PF headquarters questioning why the leadership wanted to
impose a candidate on them.

In Masvingo's Gutu South, seven
traditional leaders from the constituency last week confronted the Zanu PF
presidium over the controversial candidature of Shuvai Mahofa in the
forthcoming parliamentary elections.

The chiefs said Mahofa,
who sat in previous parliaments since 1985, had lost support in the
constituency.

Chiefs Makore, Mukaro, Chiwara and Majada, as well as
headmen Maungwa, Shenjere and Makore travelled to Harare last week to hand a
petition to President Robert Mugabe at State House.They demanded
that Mahofa be dropped from the race.

"We, the undersigned
traditional leaders, hereby ask your office to bar former Gutu south
legislator Shuvai Mahofa from representing the party in the forthcoming
elections," read the petition.

"Mahofa has overstayed in this
position as MP but she has done nothing to develop the area. She has lost
touch with the electorate and we appeal to your office to give us another
candidate in Gutu South."

However, the party upheld Mahofa's
victory in the Gutu South primary elections and has since succeeded in
persuading Rushwaya to withdraw her nomination.

The party's
elections directorate chairperson Elliot Manyika this week said Zanu PF was
working "tirelessly" to end double nominations throughout the
country.

Govt gazettes new cash law

Thursday, 28
February 2008 16:43A STATUTORY instrument released by government last
week says it is now illegal for companies and individuals to do cash
transactions worth more than $250 million.

Under Statutory
Instrument 21/2008 of the Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money
Laundering Act released last Friday, it is also illegal for traders and
parastatals to hold cash in excess of $500 million for more than 24 hours
from the last trading hour.

It also prohibits companies from
settling trade debts above $250 million in cash.

The Statutory
Instrument defines holding cash in excess of $500 million as "unlawful
hoarding of cash". Licenced money lenders are also not allowed to keep more
than $500 million. Analysts have said the new law shows that the government
is still in denial about the real situation in the economy.

At
the current prices $250 million can only buy ten litres of fuel. Many basic
commodities cost far more than $250 million. Using the prices for this week
$250 million can only buy a two-litre bottle of cooking oil ($100 million),
a 20kg bag of mealie-meal ($110 million) and a bar of soap ($30 million).
For companies the amount is not enough to buy stationery.

The
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has described the Statutory
Instrument as a futile attempt by the government to control the liquidity
position of business.

"I don't know why government overburdens
itself by creating extra work for themselves," said ZNCC president Marah
Hativagone.

"It is like a dog chasing its tail," she
said.

Hativagone said the amount was not enough for most companies
that are now paying transport fares for their employees daily.

For instance a company employing 60 people requires a minimum of $600
million per day to transport employees to and from work.

Police refuse to give Makoni protection

Zim Independent

Friday, 29 February 2008 09:47POLICE have turned down an application
for protection from independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni and his
associates amid reports that they are being trailed by the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

Sources said Makoni wrote to the
police last week requesting protection for himself, his family, and his
allies, among them Ibbo Mandaza and Kudzai Mbudzi, but the application was
turned down by Deputy Commissioner-General in charge of operations, Innocent
Matibiri.

Matibiri, President Robert Mugabe's nephew, is in charge
of the VIP protection unit.

In his request, Makoni reportedly
said his life and that of his allies were in danger because CIO officers
were monitoring his movements.

The state spies have been attending
Makoni's press conferences and filming proceedings, which the former Finance
minister argues constitute a threat to his physical security.

Matibiri in response to Makoni's application on February 19 said police
protection would only be "awarded to individuals with VIP status.
Regrettably you do not hold such status."

Makoni on February 5
announced his presidential ambition and a day later Zanu PF secretary for
legal affairs Emmerson Mnangagwa and national commissar Elliot Manyika
announced that the former Finance minister had fired himself from the
party.

The decision was later upheld by the ruling party's
politburo on February 11.

The move by Makoni to stand against
President Robert Mugabe in the March 29 elections was described by the head
of state as "disgraceful".

In a television interview last week,
Mugabe described Makoni as "worse than a prostitute" and last Saturday at
his birthday party in Beitbridge likened him to lice, which can be easily
crushed.

Mugabe questioned who Makoni's backers were and vowed that
he will not win the presidential election because he did not have
supporters.

"Are you being backed by your relatives or by your wife
or your girlfriend? He only says he is being supported by one Ibbo Mandaza.
Being challenged by a person in such state, without even a tiny party, is a
complete display of disdain for me," Mugabe said. "He thinks people will
fall over each other while trying to align with him. The likes of (Joseph)
Msika, (Joice) Mujuru and Mugabe will be forsaken by all the people for
rushing to join Makoni because he is 'a magnet'. This is hopeless ambition,"
said Mugabe.--Constantine Chimakure

A time for election futures

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28
February 2008 17:08FINANCIAL innovations have been blamed for most of
the ills that have afflicted the world's financial systems. Futures,
derivates and financial engineering are all smart ideas put into practice.
However, every now and then, these ideas are found at the epicentre of
financial earthquakes.

In the late 1990s, derivatives were
responsible for the collapse of many a hedge fund. The Russian moratorium
saw United States-based Long Term Capital Management, which had been trading
a lot of spread contracts on Russian debt creating a US$1 trillion hole in
the international financial markets. The vanguard of British banking,
Barings Inc is no more.

The bank went under as a result of rogue
futures trader Nick Leeson's losses in Nikkei futures. The latest headline
is that of one Jerome Kerviel of Societé Generale who lost his bank US$7
billion betting that the European equities markets would continue
rallying.

After the derivatives came a new term called financial
engineering. In simple terms financial engineering is the creation of new
and improved financial products - cash flows - through innovative design or
repackaging of existing financial instruments. Collaterised Debt Obligations
(CDOs) which are at the heart of the current sub-prime crisis are products
of financial engineering.

The bad overshadows the good. All the
discussions on financial engineering and derivatives focuses on the losses
or negatives but rarely are the profits mentioned. Sub-primes were largely
responsible for the bulk of the profits posted by most international banks
prior to the current crisis. That is why all of them are exposed in one way
or another.

Zimbabwean and many African markets have largely been
unaffected by the troubles of the derivatives and sub-primes. Not because we
are better at pricing the risks associated with these products or cleverer
than our first world counterparts. The reason is that we have not been
participating in the markets where these products are traded. The closest
Zimbabwe came to having a derivatives market was when Zimace was set up and
when banks had equities' derivative desks. This was in the good old days
prior to the 2004 financial turmoil.

Today, it is exactly sixty
days into the New Year and 30 days from knowing who the next great leader
will be.

March 31 will also mark the end of the first quarter of
2008. As of Wednesday this week the industrial index was only up 156%,
compared to the American dollar which has returned 247%. This is despite the
fact that the US dollar itself is weakening against other major currencies.
Generalising the returns of the stock market using the industrial index,
masks the fact that counters like Starafrica, SeedCo, CFI, and Medtech are
up 588%; 525%; 471% and 400%, respectively.

Those investors,
who were unfortunate to buy shares in Caps, have to a large extent been
impoverished. The counter is trading at below its December 31 2007 level.
Also in much the same boat are the shareholders of Cottco, Powerspeed, ZPI
and RTG. Although still in the positive the distance from zero is
negligible. If these guys are to meet their targets for the first quarter
then they might have to take on some higher risk. As is well known; risk and
return are positively correlated.

Investors in these counters could
consider making up for lost time by turning to the esoteric world of
financial derivatives. Given that there are no single stock or index futures
trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the commodity futures are not
operational because the country' s marketing regulations do not facilitate
such a market, election futures are, in theory, the only avenue
left.

Presidential elections futures have two forms;
"winner-take-all" and "vote share". The forthcoming Zimbabwean presidential
election has four candidates Robert Mugabe, Simba Makoni, Morgan Tsvangirai
and Langton Towungana. There are a number of permutations that one can
structure of the "winner-take-all" variety.

Contracts can be in
a winner-take-all form, in which an investor bets on the overall winner. The
other variety would be to pick any two out of the above four. In other
words, one can bet on Simba beating Morgan, or vice versa. In the "vote
share" future, the buyer would purchase a contract stipulating that one
candidate will command a certain proportion of the vote. For instance,
candidate X will win 33% of the vote.

Both types of contracts would
have a fixed purchasing fee and a predetermined payoff. The contracts expire
on the day of the elections. The payoff could be anything, from a fixed
amount of Zimbabwe dollars, a portfolio of better performing ZSE shares, a
tonne of maize/soya beans, a generator or a drum of fuel. This route -
unfortunately - is only available in theory as Zimbabwe does not have a
futures market. However, there is no law prohibiting an individual setting
up an over the counter trade in such futures. In the United States,
investors are busy right now betting on a candidate of their choice for the
primaries. The Democratic Party race is the one that has elicited much
interest.

For those with an appetite for futures, a missed
opportunity was the Meikles extraordinary general meeting last December. The
resolution on the acquisition of Kingdom was a good candidate for an
election future contract. A writer could have structured a "winner-take-all"
or a "vote share" contract on this controversial resolution. Some money
could have been made or lost.-- By Admire Mavolwane

MDC vows Mugabe won't retain power

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 15:59AS the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's
convoy arrived at Sakubva Stadium, Mutare, last Saturday, violence broke out
and marred the opposition party's biggest rally since its inception in
September 1999.The 25 000-seater stadium was full to the brim and the
supporters were in a jovial mood awaiting Tsvangirai to launch the party's
March 29 presidential, legislative and council elections campaign.
The MDC leader was also to unveil the party's manifesto before the excited
supporters.However, for close to 10 minutes after Tsvangirai's midday
arrival, sporadic violence became the order of the day.

The fracas
erupted soon after Tsvangirai arrived at the venue when MDC members from
Harare went into a "Mexican wave" demanding party T-shirts.

"T-shirts, T-shirts, Harare," chanted the disgruntled Harare delegates much
to the dismay of the party's organising secretary, Elias Mudzuri, who
desperately tried to calm the mob by promising to them the party
regalia.

Hell broke loose momentarily when the supporters started
throwing the party's red cards onto the pitch in
disgruntlement.

The party's youth in charge of security moved in
and assaulted a number of supporters in the glare of Tsvangirai who later
condemned the violence.

"The youth are a misfit to our agenda.
We condemn the violence unreservedly," Tsvangirai said.Among those
assaulted was a Zimbabwean journalist working for an international
television network.

But once the commotion died down, it was back
to the day's business with MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti vowing that
never in history has a sitting government won an election in a
hyperinflationary environment like that of Zimbabwe.

"There is
no government in this world which can win an election when inflation is over
100 000%, 80% unemployment and three million of its people living abroad,"
Biti said. "Mugabe you cannot and you will not do the impossible. Victory is
certain for us."

He said the party election campaign launch was
meant to make a statement to Mugabe that the MDC would win the elections
given the political, economic and social crisis facing the
nation.

Biti said millions of Zimbabweans were looking forward to
change in government leadership and the MDC was prepared to fulfill the
aspirations of the people.

"The MDC represents the idea of
change. We have travelled a long way . . . The face of our struggle is
Morgan Tsvangirai," Biti said.

"The expression of our struggle is
Morgan Tsvangirai. This is a people's project to remove Zimbabweans from
hunhapwa hwababaChatunga (Mugabe's enslavement)."

Tsvangirai,
dressed in a navy blue pin-stripe suit and matching shirt, told the
multitude of his supporters that March 29 should herald an era of change in
the country.

He did not speak on the entry of former Finance
minister Simba Makoni in the presidential race, given reports that the two
wanted to form an alliance.

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa
said Tsvangirai avoided speaking on Makoni because he was not an
issue.

He ruled out chances of Tsvangirai stepping down to back
Makoni's candidacy.

"A whole party cannot join an individual.
Makoni is an individual not a party.

He is not just an ordinary
individual, but one who has embraced Zanu PF," Chamisa said. "Mixing donkeys
and cattle does not make the cattle herd bigger."

Unveiling the
MDC manifesto, Tsvangirai said if his party is elected into power it would
pursue a social democratic programme to resolve the country's
problems.

"Be part of this movement whose proud legacy is that it
is the face of change in the country," Tsvangirai told his supporters. "We
remain the legitimate drivers of the democratisation of this
country."

The MDC leader said Zanu PF had no programme to extricate
the country from the current problems.

"The dictatorship has a
programme, or course," he said. "Poverty, exile, starvation, disease - that
has been the programme of the dictatorship for the past five
years."

Tsvangirai said his lack of a degreed education would not
preclude him from being a successful leader as parroted by the
government.

"Well, one successful political leader worked as a
waiter in a restaurant. He said that politics is a lot like being a waiter -
you listen to the people - and you bring them what they want.

That is not a bad definition of democracy," he said.

As a result
of listening to the people, the MDC came up with a manifesto for the 2008
elections premised on the need for a new constitution, he said.

Tsvangirai said his government would have a new people-driven constitution
two years after assuming power.

He said the country had an enclave
economy that was uneven, unequal and virtually dead."The challenge
for the MDC is to craft an alternative human-centred auto-centric economic
programme that is based on domestic demands, use of local resources,
domestic savings and people-based regional integration," Tsvangirai
said.

The economic programme would be spearheaded by the creation
of the Zimbabwe Economic Development Council under the MDC's Restart
strategy.

He added the MDC would trade centralised government for local
autonomy and devolution.

Tsvangirai said his government would
need at least US$10 billion to address the current problems in the country
and was hopeful that the East and the West would come to its
aid.

He said his government would establish a fund to assist
victims of Gukurahundi and Operation Murambatsvina to rebuild their homes
and businesses that were destroyed by the government in 2005.

"We cannot restore the life that was lost during the Gukurahundi. But we can
rebuild the devastated communities," Tsvangirai said.

"We can build
roads and schools and make loans to people to establish income generating
projects.

We can also create special economic zones, exempt from
taxation during the period of rebuilding."On the contentious land
reform programme, the MDC said it would carry out an audit to establish the
physical and legal status of all holdings.

The party, Tsvangirai
said, would implement and coordinate a participatory and planned
resettlement programme based on the principle of need and
ability.

The MDC would design and define the minimum and maximum
land holdings per region and also enact laws that guarantee ownership of one
household per one land holding.

Tsvangirai also said his
government would change foreign policy, and put in place robust health and
education policies, among others.

Zim to rejoin Commonwealth - MDC

Zim Independent

Thursday,
28 February 2008 16:10THE Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC has said it will
re-establish "full" diplomatic relations with all countries and rejoin the
Commonwealth if it wins next month's elections.

According to
the MDC's manifesto the opposition party would engage relevant countries and
organisations to mobilise resources to stabilise the flagging economy, meet
urgent humanitarian needs, and resume normal economic and political
relations.

"The immediate goal of the MDC government will be to
re-establish full, normal, diplomatic relations with all countries, and to
restore Zimbabwe to its rightful place in the community of nations," the
document read.

"Zimbabwe will rejoin the Commonwealth and
resume normal diplomatic activity in all relevant multilateral
organisations."

President Robert Mugabe pulled Zimbabwe out of the
Commonwealth in December 2003 in protest at the country's continued
suspension following a flawed presidential election the previous
year.

The MDC said the centrepiece of its foreign policy would be
to safeguard the values of the country's national independence, territorial
integrity and national security.

The party said the policy
would aim to rekindle and recapture the original spirit of Sadc and create a
renewed sense of hope and common purpose in the peoples of the
region.

"Zimbabwe will have a positive vision of the region, one in
which all states co-exist in peace, security and dignity, where all people
have jobs that put food on their tables, provide a roof over their heads,
and offer a decent education for their children," the policy document
reads.

"We will uphold a vision of a region that develops in a
spirit of tolerance and understanding, and we will propagate a vision of a
region where respect for the sanctity of the individual, the rule of law,
and the politics of consultation and free democratic civic participation
grow stronger by the day."

"The MDC well understands that it
will inherit a very demoralised cadre of diplomatic staff who are poorly and
irregularly paid and have become symbols of a pariah state in the countries
and regions they serve," the MDC said.

"It also understands
that it will have to cut its coat to fit its cloth, and that a complete
review of diplomatic representation will be urgently required once it is
elected."

Addressing a rally at the launch of the party's 2008
harmonised elections campaign last Saturday at Sakubva Stadium, Mutare,
Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe needed to change its current foreign
policy.

"We won our
independence 28 years ago, but the dictatorship continues to engage in a
battle with shadows. The dictator is engaged in a long running battle with
Britain, with Tony Blair as long as he was in power and now that Blair is
gone, maybe with the Queen."

This battle, the MDC leader said, cuts
Zimbabweans off from the world's commerce. "We need to present Zimbabwe once
again as the best tourism destination in Africa.

Zanu PF, of
course, does not really want people from Europe or America to come to
Zimbabwe - we welcome them," Tsvangirai said.

Domestic debt up 200% in one month

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 16:55ZIMBABWE's domestic debt increased
200% inside one month to $60,8 trillion from $21,1 trillion as government
continued to borrow from financial institutions to funds operations, figures
released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) this week say. Of the $60,8
trillion, $39,8 trillion was an advance to government. Interest payments
accounted for $5,7 trillion. Interest payments account for 75,4% of the
total debt.

Government's recourse to the domestic market for
funding has led to an expansion in money supply growth.

The
increasing government debt stock raised fresh fears of renewed turbulence in
the crisis-ridden economy, battling high inflation currently topping 100
580,2% for January.

The debt is likely to rise further on increased
borrowing by government to finance the presidential and parliamentary
elections scheduled for March 29. Government wants the money to buy fuel,
maize and wheat.

Money supply (M3) growth continued on an upward
trend increasing to a new record high of 51 768,8% in November from 24
463,6% the previous month the RBZ said.

Money supply is the
total supply of money in circulation in a given country's economy at a given
time. It is considered an important instrument for controlling inflation.
The continuous rise in money supply would further trigger
inflation.

"Annual broad money growth recorded a 51 768,8% growth,
during in November, largely contributing to the increase in broad money
growth where increases in credit to the private sector of 125 348,4% and
credit to public enterprises 12 425,3%," said the RBZ.

Analysts
said the money supply figure would be over 100 000% for January due to
expansionary fiscal and monetary policies being pursued by government and
the RBZ.

We are doomed if Mugabe wins

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28
February 2008 10:02ELLEN G White, the prolific 19th Century writer as
iconic in conservative Seventh Day Adventism as Ayn Rand is in modern-day
liberal philosophy, refers to prophets as God's messengers who bear a
critical responsibility of exposing positive and negative facts on spiritual
status of mankind, where necessary foretelling the evil that will befall a
whole nation or community that defies the Creator's laws.White
explains that, at any one time, God's people will always know what the
future holds as long as they care to listen to the recitals of prophets who
tend to be part of the local social fabric.Therefore, I want to assume a
role of what the Zanu PF propaganda machinery would label "prophet of doom",
neither being possessed by some crude revelatory spirit nor driven by
cynical forces of pessimism, but by empirical evidence.

This puts
me in an unenviable position of desecrating White's scenario of turbulence
that precedes the coming of the Son of Man by placing it in a context of one
Robert Mugabe's post-election resurgence, also known as the "son of the
soil".

That scenario, minus earthquakes, is one of untold human
misery of biblical proportions - the gnashing of teeth, war and rumours of
war, brother against brother, hunger, disease, unprecedented poverty,
corruption, crime and persecution of martyrs of the truth.

The
fact is that on March 31, Zimbabwe and the world may wake up to the reality
that Mugabe has once again prevailed over the forces of democracy to assume
another five-year term.

Of course, knowing Zimbabweans - always the
optimists - it is in bad taste to consider any such outcome that is
incompatible with our fantasies. From 1995, we have always reassured
ourselves that things will be all right and would never get any worse - the
rock bottom mentality (RBM).

Every fifth year, we have approached
the ballot box with religious zeal and conviction of a priest in the
vicinity of an altar who is convinced that every ritualistic act brings
atonement as a just reward for confession. Citizens of the country have, for
decades, walked out of polling stations with a sense of satisfaction and
egotistical self-esteem bordering on complacency that for once the "X" they
have placed in the "right" column is a seal of future
prosperity.

The protagonists of RBM in Zimbabwe argue that there is
an imaginary line below which economic decline, subjugation of rights,
subversion of justice, poverty and human despair cannot go. Certain
components of Zimbabwe's humanity, they insist, are indestructible - capable
of assuming and retaining a residual state from which re-activation and
re-construction remain possible.

In this category of the
"indestructible" are pride, hard work, resilience, integrity, optimism,
constructive debate, self-belief and noble intent. Placed in the paradigm of
a post-election Mugabe resurgence, such attributes remain a figment of
philosophical self-delusion because while they are important elements of
Zimbabwe's fundamental value system, they count for nothing when pitted
against the theory of objectivism.

Students of geography and
tectonic science will know that the RBM theory is totally discredited by the
mere fact that below the mantle there is pressurised hot ash and lava always
ready to explode onto the surface. Other than natural volcanic eruption, a
violent distortion and fracture of fault lines deep in the belly of our
planet could result in volcanic eruption - at sea, this would trigger a
tsunami.

Therefore for Zimbabweans to keep reassuring themselves
that were Mugabe to retain his throne, our country would never sink to the
deplorable levels of ethnic conflict experienced in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Darfur, Chad, Iraq and Afghanistan is
self-delusion bordering on criminal neglect.

For the first time
since 1980, Zimbabwean voters are awake to the fact that their vote will
usher the country's destiny into a proverbial pillar of stone. We either
vote for the future and go forward, or we wallow in lethargic self-pity and
sink.

I want to place my argument in a prophetic context that
requires careful, analytical interpretation. Assuming that the trend of
catastrophic events remains in the post-2000 negative mode, it is a correct
prognosis that all elements responsible for volcanic action will trigger a
six-digit reading on March 31's Richter scale.

The rationale is
simple: as long Mugabe retains power, national, regional and international
confidence in the ability of Zimbabwe to re-invent itself will remain low,
or altogether evaporate, unless he undergoes a complete
transformation.

Mind you, the six-digit reading is not just mere
speculation: inflation is already beyond 100 000% - thus living us with the
critical figures of employment, migration, brain-drain, child mortality,
school and college dropout, industrial, agricultural and mining
output.

As a voter, one has to enquire what it is about voting for
Mugabe that will reverse the trend of negative social, economic, political
and infrastructure decline Zimbabwe has been experiencing in the past twenty
years.

If, as Mugabe wants the world and us to believe,
Zimbabwe's woes are traced to him being a victim of British and American
vilification, how is he going to regain their confidence when George Bush,
Gordon Brown and the "free world" have already condemned the processes
preceding the March 29 election as pointing towards "unfree and
unfair"?

As long as the Robert Mugabe brand name is dominant on
Zimbabwe's post-March 29 political market, no known computer or prophetic
model can extrapolate the magnitude of and resultant human catastrophe. I
will support this statement by exposing the facts.

Zanu PF
leaders and their supporters term anyone who does not support Mugabe an
enemy of the revolution, so you cannot rule out post-election
retribution.

All major and minor roads in towns and cities now
are now virtually impassable, thus require a multiple-billion-dollar
resurfacing budget that is beyond even Mugabe's wildest
imagination.

Public schools and hospitals require astronomical
capital injection - in foreign currency - to be able to offer basic service,
since teachers and doctors have abandoned conventional
practice.

Power outages require that Zesa - the national power
utility - invest not less than US$100 billion to cope with industrial
demand.

No less than 1 000 professionals escape from Zimbabwe every
day, including teachers, doctors and engineers, because of a pay packet not
sufficient even for monthly bus fare.

Universities, colleges
and high schools are operating with less that 30% of required staff due to
mass resignations.

The national banking system has completely
collapsed, with simple money transfers taking more than 10 days to effect,
leaving millions of account holders stranded every month.

Citizens cannot travel to and from rural homes because diesel and petrol are
bought in US dollars, causing bus fares to double every week.

Home
development has altogether stopped because cement and brick prices have
increased five-hundredfold in the past 12 months.

There is one
state-controlled television and radio station and one daily newspaper in
Zimbabwe.

No public meeting can be conducted without police
authority.

Commercial farms have no title deeds.

Although duty for cars and petrol is paid for in foreign currency, it is
still considered "illegal" to possess foreign currency in Zimbabwe!

Question: if Mugabe wins the March 29 elections, how and with whose support
is he going to reverse the endemic trend of national emaciation? Not a hope
in hell.

87% workers would rather leave employers -
survey

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008 16:52MOST workers in
Zimbabwe are unhappy with their current employers and would prefer to leave
if they get an alternative job, a recent human resources survey conducted by
a local labour consultancy reveals.

The survey done by
Organisational Excellence Consultancy whose results were released two weeks
ago shows that the majority of workers are desperate to leave their current
jobs because they are not happy with their salaries.

The survey
revealed that given a choice, 87,50% of workers in Zimbabwe would leave
their current employers with the remaining 12,50% saying they would rather
stay put.

However, the reason for those who would rather remain
with their current employers has little to do with the salaries but the
relationship that they enjoy with colleagues at the workplace.

About 83,87% who said they would remain in their current places of
employment said they would do so only because they enjoy good working
relations with colleagues.

The survey also shows that as
inflation continues to rise workers are becoming more interested in package
benefits than the salary itself. About 12,90% said they are only remaining
in their current jobs because they enjoy free fuel while 9,68% said they
would rather hang on because they have a company vehicle.

Another 12,90% said they are persuaded to stay on in their jobs because of a
good working environment with 9,68% remaining because the company helps pay
their children's school fees. Only 6,45% said they are staying put because
they have a good basic salary.

Most workers said the pay cheque was
no longer a very important factor because it has become unsustainable in the
current inflationary environment. On average junior managers earn between
$400 million and $900 million. Executives are earning between $8 billion and
$10 billion a month while chief executives are getting around $20
billion.

The survey however revealed that even the top earners like
chief executives are not happy with their salaries which are losing value
because of inflation. The month-on-month inflation rate has averaged 180%
over the past two months.

Organisational Excellence
Consultancy's principal consultant, Memory Nguwi, said most professionals
were frustrated because they could not afford to get mortgages for houses
and loans for cars.

"What most workers want is a comfortable life
but unfortunately many have concluded that this might just be a pipe dream
if they continue working in Zimbabwe," Nguwi said.

Nguwi said
the survey indicates that companies are struggling to retain skilled
workers.

The only way out

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February
2008 15:42WE all agree that all is not in order in our motherland and
we need sacrifices now more than ever before. We have to forget our personal
ambitions and do what we must do.

As leaders, we must be able
and prepared to lose what we love most for the good of
Zimbabwe.

What the contenders in the March 29 elections should know
is that Zimbabweans want solutions - real solutions - not
politicking.

We have had truckloads of that trash before and if
anyone has not learned by now he is a damned fool. The 28 years of school in
politicking for Zimbabwe is a long time for anybody not to have grasped the
meanings behind all the political rhetoric.

What we must all
understand is that the country is being run along the lines of the mafia -
all with the omerta "code of silence". All insiders who oppose the hegemonic
oligarchy are seen not as reformers but as enemies of the
"people".

What we must know is that nobody is God here on earth -
none is sacrosanct or a deity.

By voting this time Zimbabweans
must realise the importance of what they are about to do. First, we have to
acknowledge that a problem exists and that we need to have a viable
solution.

We are voting for all-encompassing solutions, not for
politics. If we all want power then we had better announce the victory of
the ruling party. Our new leaders must have solutions, not political power
and megalomania.

There is a danger that history might repeat itself
if we let our egocentrism overshadow our reason. We know the problem causers
- and they also know themselves and their narrow interests.

Oppression is oppression whether it is done by a priest or Ian Smith. In
fact, what we have now is worse than during the liberation war - at least
then we had a well-defined enemy, not the chameleon we are now countenancing
.

The economy is in need of problem solvers not those with a
track record of looting and causing mayhem with impunity. We need
responsible people to govern.

The question is who are these
responsible people? We start from what we know. All we know for starters is
that all the contenders were Zanu PF at one time or the other.

The Zanu PF problem must be set aside and we must focus on the problem, not
on smear campaigns on the basis of Zanu PF - a sinking ship. It's time to
abandon ship in a typhoon and we have limited options.

The key
issue is that we must recognise both Simba Makoni and Morgan Tsvangirai as
true and dedicated politicians who somehow emerged from the same Zanu PF
monster.

It is not to be mistaken for the English adage of setting
a thief to catch a thief; it is a matter of the proven good guys coming
clean out of the morass - and doing their duty according to God's
wish.

Tsvangirai deserves a reward, so does Makoni and here we have
a dicey situation and little time to solve it. This is the test of the
executive mettle of these two guys - for if any majority win is only
possible it must be by these guys, not severally but in solidum. Or else we
may say goodbye to the presidency.

We have all the tools and
what we need is the strategy. Like Garibaldi in Italy, Tsvangirai fought a
long battle and deserves a hero's recognition.

And like Camillo di
Cavour, Makoni is a proven strategist and statesman with no villainy
directly linked to him. A combination of such forces would have a
devastating effect and rigging would be well nigh impossible.

Tsvangirai was placed in a pro-Zanu PF trade union in 1980, which was a
strategic position for launching a viable opposition.

We can say
that the time was ripe for him following developments in Zambia (Frederick
Chiluba and the MMD).

Makoni on the other hand is a tried and
tested reformer who worked from within and knows the strategies of the
enemy. Makoni's history is one of struggle from within - don't despise
him.

Let's be careful not to throw out the baby with the
bathwater.

We know President Robert Mugabe's methods and why fall
into the trap open-eyed? We all know the problem and what must be done - and
Makoni and Tsvangirai must do it for our sake if they are
genuine.

The complications are naked for all to see. If Makoni and
Tsvangirai contest separately it would be hard to get the requisite majority
and the confusion would make rigging easier with the rigger claiming that he
took advantage of their confusion.

In that case, Makoni and
Tsvangirai must know that they will be doomed and our woes will continue to
escalate. If they unite with Makoni at the helm, then Tsvangirai will
obviously be either vice president or prime minister or any such vital post,
rather than running all these years without fruits.

Let us form
a united front and push out the tyrant. In fact, this election will be a
serious liability increasing post-election tyranny with impunity and
retribution.

This will be a betrayal to the people since it shows
clearly that both, or the one that opposes a united front, is not for the
people because he will simply be aiding and abetting Mugabe on his eternal
perch.

It is obvious that after the harmonised elections, Zanu PF
will launch its usual vengeance campaign on the population like after the
"No" vote in 2000 and Operation Murambatsvina and others we cannot
mention.

The secret is now to unite and get all or contest
separately and suffer the same fate as the Zimbabwe Unity Movement and other
opposition parties before.

Mao Tse Tung, the Chinese Communist
strategist, united with his bitter enemy, the Kuomintang, to remove Japanese
occupation. Likewise in Kenya that was the only strategy to topple the
tyrant Daniel arap Moi from his majestic perch.

We may have so
many lessons and yet never learn. That omission or commission will be like a
criminal act against the people of Zimbabwe.

So the idea is to
settle for slightly less and get to your goal. That is these two guys' first
lesson in diplomacy. They must know that a "winner-takes-all" orientation
does not work in this time and place.

You give some and take some.
What you give must be dear to you - that's what we call sacrificing - and
the harvest will be good for all.

Let's vote for reason and
progress. All the rhetoric about colonialism and imperialism is a façade and
a charade which only worsens our lot and it is all lies.

Who is imposing whom and why?

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28
February 2008 15:33LAST week, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
treasurer Roy Bennett gave an interview to Violet Gonda on SW Radio Africa's
"Hot Seat" programme.One salient aspect of the fascinating exchange
was Bennett's indication of clear displeasure at what he saw as the
"imposition" of Simba Makoni on the electorate by what he referred to as the
"diplomatic community". Of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Bennett is quoted
as saying: "He is going to shock the world, shock the chattering class,
shock the diplomatic community that all try to impose people of their choice
rather than listening to the grassroots of Zimbabwe and the people of
Zimbabwe."

On being asked who the diplomatic community is trying to
impose, he stated: "They are trying to impose Simba Makoni."

Whether or not this is correct, it indicates that there is a perception
within the MDC leadership that the "diplomatic community" is interfering in
opposition politics and trying to impose its will on the people of
Zimbabwe.

This raises many questions.

Why would they
be trying to impose Makoni?

Do they have the power or leverage
over the MDC to impose Makoni?

Have they, in the past, played a
role in selecting opposition leaders?

Why would the opinion of the
"diplomatic community" cause any worries to the MDC leadership which is
confident of its local support base?

Or is there a deeper
relationship here that has taken a wrong turn and if so why?

There is no easy answer to these questions, but one senses that there is
tension building up between the MDC and its traditional base of external
sympathisers.

And that makes victory on March 29 even more
imperative given the diplomatic fallout that seems to be
brewing.

It is easy to overlook the fact that this line of thought
now advocated by the MDC is not new.

The reason President
Robert Mugabe has been steadfast in his refusal to allow space to the MDC is
that he perceives them as puppets of the West. The run-ins between the
government and the US, UK and lately Swedish diplomatic missions indicate
the public face of this animosity and accusations.

Could these
be the same powers whose diplomats the MDC alleges to be now favouring
Makoni in place of Tsvangirai?

Gonda did not go further to ask
specification on the identity of these diplomats leaving the audience to
speculate on the specificities of this amorphous "diplomatic
community".

There is, plainly, a sense of betrayal, perhaps
frustration within the MDC leadership over the intentions and activities of
this undefined diplomatic community.

For a party that has
enjoyed visible support from the diplomatic community, these latest
allegations reveal simmering tensions and mistrust.

But,
importantly, the allegations do raise shades of a "Mugabesque" approach to
opponents, except that Bennett does not use the same derogatory language
often employed by Mugabe whose choice of descriptions of adversaries range
from puppets to prostitutes and lately frogs.

But Bennett's
comments which effectively characterise Makoni as someone who is being
imposed on the electorate by the "diplomatic community" will no doubt find
resonance in the state media which has been carrying similar attacks in
much the same way that it has treated Tsvangirai over the
years.

There is here the irony of a so-called stooge now turning
and calling another a stooge on precisely the same basis. That being the
case, it seems to be one of those rare instances when the MDC and Zanu PF
seem to be in agreement.

But in the eyes of Zanu PF, this does
not exonerate the MDC from the same charges.

It simply provides
further ammunition to its arsenal, arguing perhaps that the MDC is simply
acting like the petulant child who cries on seeing his slice of the cake
being given to a new sibling.

But if there is any substance in
these comments, they do raise serious concerns about the character of
opposition politics in Zimbabwe. The question that has dogged every serious
opposition leader for the last decade is whether one can actually claim to
be his own man.

Zanu PF has always suggested the problem to be the
opposition's lack of independence, it being a tool to further the interests
of the West. Crude though it might be, it has been an effective method,
especially among the uninformed sections of society.

It has
also been effective in the community of African leaders who, plainly,
believe that Mugabe is a victim of Western interference. It also explains,
in part, why Tsvangirai has never quite found the favour he sought from the
likes of Thabo Mbeki and fellow African leaders in southern Africa.

It is interesting, therefore, that the MDC would now resort to the same line
of argumentation in respect of a fellow challenger. That might well be
interpreted to its disadvantage, it being taken by its perennial detractors
to give credence to Mugabe's usual rhetoric.

The MDC may well be
right about its apprehensions. But when it is trying to manoeuvre in this
treacherous terrain, it seems to make sense to also retain a measure of
diplomacy in its dealings.

Bennett's comments came hardly two weeks
after another diplomatic faux pas in South Africa, when Tsvangirai was
reported to have publicly criticised Mbeki for not being "a little brave" in
handling Mugabe.

He may be right, but it is not helpful to appear
to be humiliating a host, to whom one is likely to return in
future.

The MDC is right to say that the decision-makers are the
Zimbabwean voters and that they may well post a surprise on March 29. But
surely, they have been in the trenches long enough to know that local
support needs to be augmented by external understanding and
backing.

There will be a time when they will be needed just as
their material largesse has sustained the organisational needs of the
opposition and civil society groups.

A lesson learnt, perhaps,
would be that there is nothing like a free lunch in this world. If there is
indeed some pressure on the MDC leadership, it is perhaps the price they are
paying - a consequence of investment in a relationship that had up to now
appeared safe and comforting.

It brings to mind the old lesson that
there are no permanent friends in the world of politics. Rather, it is only
the pursuit of interests that is permanent.

It is easy to
forget that although by the time he went to the gallows Saddam was a sworn
enemy, it was not always so. Even America's most wanted, Osama Bin Laden, he
too, was not always a bad apple.

There is, however, a risk here for
the MDC: one of burning bridges.

Legend has it that "burning
bridges" is a phrase that goes way back to the Roman times. It is said that
the generals of the Roman army took the practice of burning bridges once
their soldiers had crossed on their way to battle.

This,
supposedly, took away any ideas of retreating that the soldiers might
otherwise have entertained. Today, it is a phrase that means that those who
burn bridges tend to place themselves in positions from which there might be
no return. This comes at great cost.

The opposition now finds
itself facing more challenges, not just Mugabe but also the simmering doubts
within the traditionally friendly "diplomatic community".

Is
there something more the public should know? No doubt this is only the tip
of the iceberg. Sooner or later, it shall manifest.

Zim's No 1 headache

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February
2008 15:28AT face value, news that security forces had been given a
pay rise that will push their monthly salaries to a little over one billion
dollars a month gives the impression that they are now getting a lot of
money.To anybody not accustomed to life in Zimbabwe a billion-dollar
salary sounds like an obscene amount. This impression however only lasts
until the seemingly huge figure is compared to what it can buy in real
terms. It becomes even worse when one looks at how much the same amount will
buy at the end of the month in light of Zimbabwe's galloping inflation which
the Central Statistical Office reported to be 100 580,2% for January on a
year-on-year basis.

Zimbabwe's month-on-month inflation has
averaged 180% for the past two months. The month-on-month inflation rate is
given by the percentage change in the index of the relevant month of the
current year compared to the previous month. It indicates the average change
in prices of the goods in the consumer basket.

For instance
January's month-on-month inflation of 120,8% indicates the average price
increase changes from December last year. In other words the same salary
cannot buy the same commodities it did last month.

In specific
terms it means that a Zimbabwean dollar today is no longer worth the same
tomorrow.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Zimbabwe is now experiencing hyperinflation - a situation when
month-on-month inflation reaches more than 50%.

So serious is
the cost of inflation on the salaries that by the time it is received at the
end of the month the amount will be worth next to nothing.

Even
though most Zimbabweans might not know the academic definition of inflation
at least they see what it does to their earnings.

For example,
Norman Nerwande (34) was one of the soldiers who received a billion-dollar
salary last week but instead of being happy he is depressed.

The reason is that the amount is barely enough to buy the basics for his
family of three.

The mathematics of it all is quite simple. Using
the prices for this week Nerwande's billion-dollar pay cheque is only enough
to buy two litres of cooking oil ($60 million), a loaf of bread per day for
the rest of the month ($120 million) and a packet of meali-meal
($20million).

It will also pay rent for his three rooms in Budiriro
($80 million per room), four kilogrammes of meat ($40 million per
kilogramme) and provide enough bus fare ($205 million per month). He will
also be able to pay the city council rates, water and power charges which
now require $250 million per month.

The amount is finished
before Nerwande can cater for other basic commodities, clothing and school
fees. Nerwande's problem is that these calculations are based on the prices
that are valid for a week and in some cases a day.

As the month
progresses Nerwande's money will only be able to buy fewer loaves and pay
for fewer trips to his work at the Presidential Guard headquarters in
town.

The list of the things that he can buy with the salary is
getting smaller every day because of inflation. His situation will be even
more desperate because the next salary which is due on March 18 will not be
able to buy the same things that he bought this month.

"The
salary is finished before it comes," said Nerwande.

This is the
sorry situation that every worker faces in Zimbabwe. At the current average
month-on-month inflation of 180% a billion dollars next month will only buy
a bottle of cooking oil which will cost $168 million and pay rent for three
rooms which will cost $224 million per room.

This list will be
whittled down further by April and can only be enough then for a single room
and a smaller bottle of cooking oil.

This means that Zimbabwean
workers are continually sinking into poverty. No amount of salary increase
can be enough under the current conditions where the Zimbabwean dollar is
losing value everyday.

Analysts say it is now difficult for
companies to motivate employees. "Very few workers now look forward to their
salaries," said David Mupamhadzi, group economist for Zimbabwe Allied
Banking Group.

"The reason is that in most cases the salary reviews
are way below the inflation rate. Workers have also realised that inflation
is not only eating into their current salaries but future earnings as well,"
Mupamhadzi said.

Mupamhadzi said in such situations inflation
becomes a subtle tax. "The issue here is that while ideally workers must be
paid per month but sticking to this arrangement disadvantages workers.It
becomes a subtle tax on the worker."

Already some companies
have started paying their workers weekly. The problem is, however, that not
all companies will afford to pay their workers every week because of cash
flow problems.

For example some companies have a system where
debtors pay after 30 days. This means that a move to weekly salary payments
will disrupt the cash flow position.

Most companies are already
distressed with the majority operating at below 10% of capacity.
Human resources consultant, Memory Nguwi, believes that there will come a
time when people will not bother to come to work because their salaries are
continually at the mercy of inflation. "It's a headache for most
companies.

It will be difficult to justify coming to work because
the wages are just insignificant," Nguwi said.

"Companies will
have come up new incentives to motivate workers."

Some companies
are supplying groceries to workers while others are reviewing salaries every
month. Analysts however said even these methods might not be enough to
encourage workers to stay on their jobs.

"Hyperinflation tends to
render even these methods useless," said Mupamhadzi.Other
countries like Germany (after World War I) and Bolivia faced the same
problems.

For instance there was a time when prices would increase
every few hours in Germany meaning that workers that got their monies in the
morning would be better off than those that get their salaries in the
afternoon.

The rich have also not been spared by inflation - fuel
and property prices have sky-rocketed. Even those that earn in foreign
currency will have to deal with inflation somehow. At the current rates at
the parallel market the rand buys more in South Africa than it does in
Zimbabwe even at the parallel market rate.

The concept of
parity pricing has been skewed because of inflation.

"The biggest
cause of inflation in Zimbabwe is now inflation itself," said Martin
Tarusenga, a business consultant.

"The sad part of the Zimbabwe
story is that those in power know what needs to be done but they just choose
to do nothing," Tarusenga said.

What Masimirembwa said last week

Zim Independent

Thursday,
28 February 2008 17:01BELOW are excerpts from the interview Zimbabwe
Independent business editor, Shakeman Mugari, had with NIPC chairman,
Godwills Masimirembwa last week.Mugari: Your commission has been
accused of taking time to approve prices. Companies say by the time they get
new prices things would have changed. Consumers say your approved prices are
always far removed from the reality on the ground.

Masimirembwa: We are not always behind. What is always ahead is the tendency
to profiteer. I must however say that we have worked well with big
corporates.

Mugari: You are trying to inculcate a culture of
responsibility in an economy with 66 000% (now 100 000%) inflation. The
International Monetary Fund says even this figure is
understated.

Masimirembwa: The NIPC does not sit in an abstract. We
look at an application and its merits. We want stability. The price must
hold for 30 days.

Mugari: It seems that even the 30-day time
frame is not working?

Masimirembwa: We must realise that price
reviews are not a panacea to our problems. The solution lies in
productivity. There are shortages in the whole economy. We will still have
problems achieving this stability if inflation continues to rise. We need a
total package to solve this problem.

Eric Bloch Column

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February
2008 15:21ALTHOUGH inevitably Zanu PF would vehemently deny it, it is
becoming more and more apparent that the party's 2008 election campaign has
been devised and structured to ensure the party's defeat.

Zanu
PF plans to lose elections

The rationale for such an incongruous
objective defies comprehension, but it is near impossible to assume any
other intent from government's current policies and actions.

It
is commendable that, albeit belatedly, government has enabled and empowered
the Central Statistical Office (CSO) to resume timeous release of Consumer
Price Index (CPI) and related inflation data, after a four month hiatus of
near total CSO silence.

It is also commendable that the CSO is
releasing data which confirms the intense hyperinflation that prevails,
instead of deviously attempting to conceal that reality.

Undoubtedly government has finally, and very tardily, realised that any
attempted misrepresentation would be an exercise in the fruitless, for the
populace is fully aware of the inflation actualities.

In fact, the
populace knows that real inflation is even greater than stated by the CSO,
because most essential commodities are not available in the official markets
accessed by CSO, but must be obtained at considerably higher prices from
black market sources.

However, the commendability of the data
release, free of blatant, deliberate distortion, is markedly outweighed by
government's total failure to do anything to contain the devastating
inflation, or to alleviate the intense, ever-increasing, hardships
afflicting almost all in Zimbabwe (other than the Zanu PF
hierarchy).

Ever since inflation commenced its surging upwards
spiral, government has done naught but speciously blame others, save and
except for ill-conceived, misguided actions to worsen the circumstance (such
as price controls, creation of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission,
castigation unjustly of the business community, and so forth), although the
motivation of such actions could well be construed as part of Zanu PF's
death wish.

No matter how greatly, or how frequently,
government may attribute the hyperinflation to the greed of the business
world, or to conspiracy between the government's perceived international
enemies and the captains of commerce and industry, the incontrovertible fact
is that each and every cause of Zimbabwean hyperinflation has been the
creation of government.

As tragic and contemptible as that is, what
is even more tragic and contemptible is that government compounds the
catastrophes that it has created by continued recourse to the very same
actions that have fuelled the world's worst inflation, and to yet further
such actions.

The CSO determined that year-on-year inflation to
December, 2007 was 66 212,3%, increasing to 100 580,2% in January
2008.

As horrific as those figures are, comparable to the greatest
ever recorded inflation, in Germany in the days of the Weimar Republic
(1923), actual Zimbabwean inflation was even greater than the CSO has
stated, with authoritative estimates placing it at between 130 000 and 140
000% in January 2008.

If the Weimar Republic-like trend
continues, Zimbabwe will exceed the near trillion percent inflation that
Germany sustained in the period from 1922 to 1924. And the blame for this
disastrous plague upon the Zimbabwean people lies fairly and squarely with
government.

It is the Zimbabwean government that has:

*Destroyed agricultural production, with a land policy which has caused
nothing but decimation of that which was the economy's foundation, the
region's bread-basket, the greatest provider of employment, a major foreign
currency generator, and much else;

*Alienated
the international community to an extent that criticlly-needed balance of
payments support and developmental aid is not forthcoming;

*Alienated international investment by pursuit of a command economy,
characterised by draconian regulation and legislation;

*Fuelled
grossly excessive money supply by never-ending recourse to unaffordable
spending, exacerbated by destroying the independence of the central bank,
and forcing it to engage continuously in vastly costly quasi-fiscal
operations, generally politically-driven, and economically
unsuccessful.

Government's spending of that which it does not
have has become so pronounced that it spends no time governing, and all its
time spending. The latest example of this endemic profligacy is the
provision of trillions of dollars of "loans" to the country's
military.

This was a blatant act of vote-buying, notwithstanding
government's recurrent contentions that the forthcoming elections will be
wholly free and fair.

There is as great a prospect of such
elections as there is that President Mugabe could become prime minister of
Great Britain, or the pope!All these, and many other actions of
government of a calamitous nature, coupled by governmental inaction when
actions were necessary, have occasioned the gargantuan inflation that
afflicts Zimbabwe.

So great is that affliction that hundreds of
thousands are homeless, millions are unemployed, malnutrition and associated
ill-health is the order of the day for very many, and an overwhelming
majority of the populace are subject to endless misery, and extreme,
life-endangering hardships.

And this circumstance has not only
endured for almost a decade, but at a continuously intensifying pace, to
such an extent that for most of the afflicted there is not even the
compensation of the faintest glimmer of hope of change.

As if
government's culpability for the near destruction of Zimbabwe and its people
does not suffice to satisfy its machiavellian disregard for the need to
assure wellbeing for all Zimbabweans, government torturously continues to
turn on the screw of suffering, poverty and consequential agony. Amongst its
many tools of affliction is taxation.

Not only does it apply rates
of taxation which are the highest on the continent of Africa, and which
contest for the unenviable status of being amongst the world's highest, but
it applies those rates not only to those few with substantial incomes, but
also to those who live on the precipice of destitution.

Although the Minister of Finance, Samuel Mumbengegwi, last November in his
2008 budget, adjusted the tax thresholds and bands for individuals,
effective from lst January, 2008, his concessions were reduced to levels
below the insignificant by that date, as a result of the ongoing
inflation.

By February, the tax threshold is less than a sixth of
the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) for a family of six.

Thus, a
person earning only one-sixth of that which is necessary to sustain himself
and his family on the border-line of poverty, becomes subject to onerous
income tax, over and above diverse indirect taxes, such as VAT.

Only a government that is contemptuous of voters, or which is actually
planning to lose elections, would resort to such unjust, back-breaking,
taxation.

Perhaps government has realised that even the must
pronounced pressures upon an electorate to support it are victims to the
ultimate extreme pressure of endangered survival, and it is therefore
pushing for the electorate to find the courage to vote against
it.

What is, however, confusing, is reconciling these acts of
apparent determination to lose the elections with the concurrent disguised
rigging of those elections by the abusive usage of the state-controlled
media to promote the ruling party and to defame its opponents, the indirect
vote-buying of the votes of the military, teachers, and other civil
servants, and many like actions.

Candid Comment

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008
15:09"THEY (European nations) are complicating the problems in
Zimbabwe by recognising that elections are only free and fair when the
ruling party loses," said Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa this
week. Leave us to chart our destiny

"We are sick and
tired of having elections later disputed. We hope losing parties will accept
when they have lost," Mwanawasa said.This followed his observation that
European nations, Canada, the United States and Australia would only
pronounce Zimbabwe's harmonised elections next month free and fair if the
ruling Zanu PF lost to the MDC, judging by their comments on the whole
electoral process. He said the Europeans should leave Zimbabweans to work at
their problems without foreign interference.

Under normal
circumstances, the Europeans and their American and Australian counterparts
should not have been surprised at this rebuke from the Sadc chair as the
organisation has in the past been accused of backing President Mugabe
against Morgan Tsvangirai or is it Zanu PF against the MDC? Even the
contradiction in Mwanawasa calling Zimbabwe a "sinking Titanic" and then
appealing for it to be left alone to resolve its problems would not be so
much striking, coming out of Africa.

But things are not normal
here, they are indeed getting "complicated" as we move fast towards the
March 29 elections. Mwanawasa's comments came the same week the MDC attacked
the "diplomatic community" for trying to impose independent presidential
candidate, Simba Makoni, on the people of Zimbabwe.

The
coincidence is unprecedented.

The difference is that Mwanawasa is
mindful of the disastrous impact of Western influence on our elections given
what is going on in Kenya and would be happy to scotch what appear set to be
self-fulfilling European prophecies about rigged elections in Zimbabwe
should Zanu PF win - even if the MDC boycotts the elections.

On
the other hand the MDC's Roy Bennett in South Africa seems to have been
angered by the "diplomatic community's" warm reception of Makoni's entry
into the presidential race, thus confirming a widely held perception that
they prefer working with a "reformed" Zanu PF to a "complete change"
advocated by the MDC.

As I have indicated, there is nothing
radical in Mwanawasa's position. It is the MDC which seems to be walking a
tightrope vis-à-vis the "diplomatic community" with whom it has been cosy
over the years.

First, if the claim is true, then Mwanawasa is
right that foreigners should not unduly interfere in our elections. They
complicate things for us. We are unable to make "informed"
choices.

Philanthropist George Soros calls this "counterproductive
intervention" by Western powers in an interview in the South African weekly,
Mail & Guardian!

Second, the link between Makoni and the
"diplomatic community" might just be a perception by the MDC. Which means it
sees things through Zanu PF's jaundiced lens - anybody who challenges it
cannot be his own man. He is either Zanu PF, as Bennett says of the Arthur
Mutambara camp, or is imposed by the West, like Simba Makoni.

Exactly what President Mugabe and Zanu PF say of Tsvangirai and the MDC. How
the disease has become dangerously contagious and mentally
corrosive!

But things get even more complicated for the MDC,
for in its demand for foreign observers and the international media to cover
our elections next month, it is common cause that its reference point is
chiefly the "diplomatic community" it now accuses of treachery by trying to
impose Makoni on the people of Zimbabwe - Britain, the United States,
Canada, Australia and European nations.

This is evident in the
way the MDC has not hidden its suspicion of Zanu PF's choice of "friendly
nations" to be invited to observe the elections - Sadc, the AU, China,
Russia, etc.

There is no official list yet. This leaves us with no
"independent" foreign observers at all - a very painful prospect by any
standard, all because of the so-called Makoni factor.

Before
this Makoni fellow upset the apple cart there was no doubt about which way
in the political fight the "diplomatic community's" sympathies lay - listen
to the cacophony of how Mugabe has already mugged the ballot.

Yet for me Mwanawasa's warning is pertinent as we enter very sensitive and
what could turn out to be watershed elections in the country's history.
There has been a lot of external prejudging and too much noise about the
elections being rigged in Zanu PF's favour that it is doubtful whether any
rational voices will be heard post-election if the preferred party
loses.

That is before one can even factor in the logistical
nightmare of voting in one day and problems of power outages or poor
accessibility for some parts of the country.

More tragically,
there are frustrated youths in Zanu PF and the MDC who cannot tell between
genuine grievances and reckless electioneering, all of which has the effect
of inflaming passions which may burst into a conflagration at the touch of a
tinder. This calls for sensitivity and responsible leadership on both
parties.

Let aliens give Zimbabweans who vote the respect and
chance to decide the future of their nation without undue
influence.

Why all this craving on the part of foreigners to turn
our elections and the resultant upshot into another "whiteman's burden" by
prejudging them?

Editor's Memo

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008
15:01MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti over the weekend raised a
fundamental point regarding President Mugabe's quest for re-election. At his
party's rally in Mutare on Saturday, Biti pondered whether "Mugabe would do
the impossible" and win an election in an environment dominated by
hyperinflation and unemployment. Will Mugabe achieve the
impossible?

"There is no government in this world which can win an
election when inflation in over 100 000%, 80% unemployment and three
millions of its people living abroad," Biti said. "Mugabe, you cannot and
you will not do the impossible. Victory is certain for us."

MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai who spoke more directly to party supporters in the
key note address said the election next month was a referendum on Mugabe's
misrule.

One intriguing aspect about President Mugabe's quest to
for re-election is that he expects the electorate to vote him back into
office without really promising them anything.

At a time when
the country is crying out for prudent leadership to chaperone it out of the
current low, President Mugabe and his Zanu PF have mounted a campaign
inviting voters to defend their land and sovereignty.

That's all
there is in Mugabe's project at the moment. He is begging for another term
not because he believes he has anything to offer but because he simply wants
to spite those he believes want to rob the national purse.

The
preoccupation with defending land, independence, sovereignty presupposes
that the people are enthralled by being constantly engaged in battles on
behalf of Mugabe and are not keen to enjoy the fruits of their
toil.

This is the nature of Zanu PF's project of national
impoverishment. The party is seeking popular endorsement of a project
designed to render the people dependent on Zanu PF for virtually everything.
The message is, without Zanu PF there is no independence, land, food,
tractors, ploughs, fertiliser and all the other goodies that come with
dictatorial paternity.

The unfortunate issue about our dear leader
is that all the goodies he has dished out have no impact in righting the
situation here. His latest gifts of tractors and farming implements have
done nothing to improve production.

Zimbabwe will be importing
grain again this year. He has failed to realise that the country will not be
developed on the back of freebies, especially those contained in the pouch
tainted with corruption. It is from the same receptacle that he pulled out
land, fertiliser, fuel, Aspef funds and so on.

Anyone
challenging this embarrassing patronage is considered an enemy of the state
and an agent of the West. It was not surprising therefore that President
Mugabe's birthday interview broadcast last week and the speech at the
birthday party in Beitbridge over the weekend stakes emphasis on those
wanting to take away candy from his mouth.

To fend off the
vexation from challengers, Simba Makoni and Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe has
resorted to berating them using crude language usually consistent with
emptiness.

He has likened Makoni to a prostitute and a frog. What
does Joyce Kazembe at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, who was recently
lecturing the media, say about this crude language? How about his
adversaries responding in equal measure? (Crocodile? Dinosaur?)

President Mugabe believes that Zimbabwe's salvation will come from shouting
at the British. He wants the electorate to join him in howling at the moon
instead of focusing on the problems. To say the least, Mugabe has ceased to
be part of the solution to the national crisis. He is the embodiment of a
national tragedy in which he is asking the electorate for another chance to
star in the drama of calamity.

This brings me back to the MDC rally
over the weekend. Tsvangirai articulated the solutions to our crisis well:
international re-engagement, return to the rule of law, restoring
productivity on the land, in mines and factories and restoring the dignity
of our currency. But will this earn him the popular vote or will it be the
cheap rhetoric of insults and innuendo which will win at the end of the
day?

Mugabe's record in between polls has not been good. The Zanu
PF government has since the last election in 2005 seen inflation rise from
164% in June 2005 to the current 100 580% and the local currency weakened
against the US dollar from US$1:$6 100 (May 2005) to the current rate of
US$1:$20 000 000.

Capacity utilisation has dropped from about
50% to less than 15% today. Agricultural production and social services
indices - especially in health and social security - have plummeted to
life-threatening levels.

That is the Zanu PF record in between
polls. But Mugabe still insists that the anti-British theme is key for him
in this election. We'll see.

Comment

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008
14:55POLICE Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has warned
Zimbabweans against engaging in politically motivated violence. He said this
on Tuesday. This was a follow-up to a march by the ZRP at the weekend to
raise public awareness against violence. Public order not about
shooting

This is a worthy initiative by the police, although it
should be embarrassing to any self-respecting Zimbabwean. It has however
become necessary to mount this campaign given that elections in Zimbabwe
have become synonymous with violence, which is a shame.

Chihuri
said the police force had adequate resources to deal with any acts of
violence related to the harmonised March elections, including the use of
"full force" and firearms if this became necessary.

"The use of
full force by the police the world over has always attracted criticism, and
is deliberately exaggerated most of the times for a purpose," said Chihuri.
"This is a sticky point so designed to undermine and discredit the entire
electoral process."

We are not going to apportion blame about who
is responsible for violence. Our wish is for as free and fair elections as
is possible under the current polarised and badly poisoned political
atmosphere.

A decision having already been taken that the elections
will be held on March 29, and with all political parties already hard at
work on their campaigns towards that deadline, it would be foolhardy of
anyone to imagine elections under any other conditions.

The
best that we can do for our part is to appeal for a sense of maturity and
responsibility among all those involved in the electoral process and in the
elections themselves - from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, politicians
and their political parties to the police. It behoves the ZEC to be seen to
be as impartial as is humanly possible in the execution of its
duties.

This will avoid unnecessary finger-pointing and
recriminations with those who already view it as a partisan body. We shall
give them the benefit of the doubt.

The police's efforts in
ensuring peaceful elections can only benefit from the behaviour of the
different political parties and their candidates. It would be remiss of us
to expect the police to maintain peace while political leaders use
inflammatory language and hate speech in the course of their
campaigns.

Extolling parties' degrees in violence is as bad as
glorifying the mayhem which followed the announcement of the Kenyan election
results last month. Those responsible for these irresponsible utterances
should be personally held accountable for the consequences regardless of
which political formation they belong to.

Then there is the
police itself and law enforcement. Gratuitous threats to shoot people are as
bad as the threats of street protests and violence by those who lose
elections. The police can only hope to get as much public respect as it
deserves in terms of how impartial it is seen to be in applying the
law.

Once the police are seen to partially enforce a law already as
discredited as the Public Order and Security Act, they can only bring
dishonour on themselves.

It starts with the way the law is
applied regarding public meetings, gatherings and rallies. All parties must
be seen and feel that they are being treated equally. The conduct of the
police must be beyond reproach, a tall order in such a charged atmosphere
but one that must be executed with honour.

It is in this
respect that we appeal for maximum restraint in the use of "full force and
arms" as threatened by Chihuri. An unfortunate incident in trying to control
a rowdy crowd disgruntled at the electoral outcome might turn out to be just
the spark to trigger a holocaust.

In his address on Tuesday,
Chihuri warned: "We are not deterred by the utterances of hate from the
Western world concerning this issue (use of force) as it is in their
interest to discredit all who are not their puppets in their quest to defend
their interests."

This is obviously a very loaded statement going
well beyond professional policing for law and order. Using "full force" to
enforce law and order and to protect life and property are different from
applying the same force to defend a particular political
system.

This becomes a matter of personal discretion by the officer
in charge on whether a grievance is genuine or it is meant to serve foreign
interests. This compromises the role of the police and opens it to charges
of partiality towards certain causes. That is not what public order should
be about.

Therefore the success or failure of next month's
elections will very much depend on the role played by all the stakeholders
with their competing interests.

These interests must however at
the end of the day defer to the overarching national interest. Nobody should
have a greater stake in the outcome of next month's elections than those
Zimbabweans who will vote to choose their leaders and decide their country's
future.

MuckRaker

Zim Independent

Thursday, 28 February 2008
15:16IT was interesting to see the tributes flowing in to Fidel Castro
upon his retirement. Norman Mailer once described him as "the first and
greatest hero to appear in the world since the Second World War".
Lavish birthday bash amid abject poverty

Others differed.
"Initially an admirer, the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa grew to hate
the man he dubbed 'the Super Ego'," the Daily Telegraph reported. "The Cuban
people, said Llosa, had been left with only two aspirations by Castro: get
enough food to eat and escape as soon as possible."

Sound
familiar?

The South African press went to town on the $3 trillion
Zanu PF was spending on President Robert Mugabe's birthday celebrations in
Beitbridge at a time when shortages of just about everything blighted the
land. And then there was the balloon tethered on the South African side of
the river with the legend "Bob, you've had your cake, now beat it"
emblazoned on the side.

Those of us a bit slow to get the message,
should understand this is a variant of the "having your cake and eating it"
aphorism.

Some elements in the ruling party, we understand, wanted
to shoot the blimp down but cooler heads prevailed. Then there was that
unprepossessing piece of embroidery the Chinese ambassador presented at
Zimbabwe House.

The ambassador said Mugabe was "a great
revolutionary in the world, the best friend of the Chinese
people".

If that was the case, someone should have asked him, why
does his boss keep dodging Zimbabwe every time he comes to
Africa?

Simba Makoni is unlikely to respond to the childish rebukes
of a lightweight political columnist like Godwills Masimirembwa. But
Masimirembwa's accusation that Makoni has "all along been an enemy of the
revolution" leads us to ask what role Masimirembwa played in the revolution?
Running a chicken farm doesn't count.

It is only revolutionary
in the sense that the chickens lose their heads!

Isn't it
significant that Zanu PF's most shrill propagandists at home and abroad are
those who played no role whatsoever in the liberation of this country and
have indeed been complicit in its collapse?

We had, for instance,
the vacuous George Shire inviting us to remember our history. That, after
all, is the only thing Zanu PF has left! But why doesn't Shire explain why
he won't join his compatriots in sharing their travails at this time in our
history? Why does he prefer to live and work in the safe embrace of a
proclaimed enemy? Intriguing isn't it? But it is typical of the double
standards that infect every utterance of these useless
super-patriots.

Poor old Christopher Mushohwe. He is haunted by
the fact that while Manicaland has the largest number of people in the
present cabinet, it also has the largest number of individuals turning
against the president.

"I am challenging you Cde Governor," he said
to Tinaye Chigudu in Marange recently, "to do something about this
problem."

Exactly what it was the hapless governor was supposed to
do was not spelt out.

Mushohwe said "it was common knowledge
that the Simba Makoni project is being spearheaded by whites as witnessed by
several parties that were thrown in Harare when he announced his intention
to stand against the president".

Some nightclubs did not close
down that night as whites celebrated the news, Mushohwe claimed.So
this is the level of intelligence ministers reach after getting their MA
fast-tracked through UZ? We can see quite clearly here where the problem in
Manicaland lies.

"Perhaps you can find out from these people what
their real problem is," Mushohwe told Governor Chigudu.

Now
there's an idea!

Meanwhile, Muckraker would like to know more about
the Illyushin 96 deal. Zimbabwe has paid a deposit for three of the
gas-guzzling planes, we are told. Why has Mushohwe not given us the details?
Illyushin officials at the Singapore air show last week said it was a done
deal!

Why does the Herald think voters should listen to the views
of George Charamba who was given top billing in the newspaper on
Monday?

Charamba claimed the opposition was going into the March 29
poll with manifestos that serve the interests of Britain and the US. He
claimed Simba Makoni's manifesto was inspired by the US Zimbabwe Democracy
and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera).

"Read Zidera and you will
know who the father of Tsvangirai and Makoni is," Charamba proclaimed.
"Their land policies betray their parentage."

In fact their land
policies call for a fair and equitable distribution of land which leads to
agricultural recovery.

Why Charamba should find that sinister we
can only guess at. But why are the partisan views of a senior civil servant
being given prominence in the public media? Shouldn't he be adopting a
professional stance of political neutrality?

One of the key
weaknesses of Zimbabwe's electoral system is the role of public servants in
promoting the interests of the incumbent regime whilst abusing their
government platform to hurl insults at opposition figures.

At the
same time, the public media which is supposed to reflect a diversity of
interests behaves as a ruling-party cheerleader.

Editors in the
public media are happy to be used in this way because they don't know any
better. Why isn't Charamba challenged to say what happened to the £44
million that Britain provided for land reform prior to 1993? And why is he
opposed to a land audit which would reveal the extent of the chicanery in
the land redistribution exercise?

Meanwhile, he might have a word
with his boss about unstatesman-like behaviour. How appropriate is it for an
84-year-old leader to go around calling his opponents prostitutes? And what
would be Mugabe's response if his opponents used the same
language?

The regime has passed a raft of laws making it illegal to
denigrate the president.

So Mugabe is able to insult his
critics and then hide behind the law when somebody in the back of a commuter
omnibus says something mildly unflattering about him!

How brave
or dignified is that sort of political behaviour?

Following the
nomination process, we have some curious names of political contestants. In
Dangamvura-Chikanga we have Mutsekwa Giles Tariyafero (MDC Tsvangirai),
Binari Yard (Zanu PF), Muza Nomore (MDC), Maeresera Taziveyi Rajab
(Independent), while in Nyanga North there is Mazambani David (Independent),
Nyawupembe Siboniso Tarisayi (Independent), Chibvura Nichodimus Antimalaria
(Zanu PF), and Mwonzora Douglas Togaraseyi (MDC Tsvangirai).

In Lupane West we have Vigilance Ncube (MDC Mutambara)
while in Emganwini there is Vanish Ndlovu (UPP) and Legion Dube
(Independent). Gwanda has Mlilo Orders (Zanu PF).Good luck to
them all!

Don't you get the impression reading the official press
and presidential pronouncements that Simba Makoni has committed some
unforgivable offence by standing for president?

As we know,
"there's no vacancy there". But surely other people are allowed to throw
their hat into the ring? We are given the strong impression that challengers
are unwelcome; in fact they are committing a form of lese majesté, a law
Louis XV1 used to incarcerate his critics in the Bastille.

We noted
earlier how Mugabe uses what are called "insult laws" to discourage
criticism. But here we have something equally serious: a climate in which
people don't dare exercise their political rights. Zanu PF, despite being
the author of the nation's misery, is promoted as the only authentic
claimant to the people's trust.

Under the mantra of sovereignty
those seeking to engage the international community to help rescue the
country are damned as traitors.

What one can identify clearly
enough is presidential fury that anybody should propose an alternative
programme to Zanu PF's bankrupt policies.

ZTV's absolutely
pointless interview with Mugabe last week at least exposed his failure to
offer a solution to the crisis he has spawned. It was a public relations
disaster and those sitting off-camera in the shadows giggling at his puerile
remarks must have known it.

This was a man bereft of policies and
locked in the mantras of the past.

The big question now is,
will the mix of coercion and official propaganda be sufficient to avoid a
run-off after March 29? That is his biggest worry.

It all
dependson how many voters Makoni and the MDC have registered. There's
no room for unbridled optimism there.

Zanu PF has been
advertising its dishonesty by inserting words into a letter by Gordon Brown
announcing an increase in funding for civil society organisations such as
doctors, lawyers and NGOs.

Where Brown said civil society, Zanu PF
has inserted the words "read as opposition". So, not just deceitful but
clumsy as well! Is this the best they can do?